Mero: Oil deliveries from Druzhba pipeline to be restored either on Friday or Saturday

Oil deliveries to Czechia via the Druzhba pipeline could be resumed either on Friday or on Saturday, the Chairman of the Board of Mero Jaroslav Pantůček has told Czech Television. Mero is the company that owns and operates the Druzhba and IKL pipelines on Czech territory.

Transit from the pipeline was halted by Ukraine on August 4, because it had not received the transit payment from Russia for that month. Although Russia had sent the money in July, the payment could not be processed due to sanctions, the Czech News Agency reports.

Oil deliveries via the pipeline have already been restored to Hungary and Slovakia, after locally responsible companies MOL and Slovnaft sent the transit payment in order to ensure the commodity would continue moving in.

Mr Pantůček, said that it is necessary to obtain state permission for transit fees to be exempted from EU sanctions, in order to be able to pay for them and resolve the situation. The permit is issued by the Financial Analytical Office of the Czech Ministry of Finance.